1. Technical Field
The present subject matter is generally directed to the field of microelectronic imager devices and EMI shielding for imager devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Microelectronic imagers are used in digital cameras, wireless devices with picture capabilities, and many other applications. Cell phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), for example, are incorporating microelectronic imagers for capturing and sending pictures. The growth rate of microelectronic imagers has been steadily increasing as they become smaller and produce better images with higher pixel counts.
Microelectronic imagers include image sensors that use Charged Coupled Device (CCD) systems, Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) systems, or other systems. CCD image sensors have been widely used in digital cameras and other applications. CMOS image sensors are also quickly becoming very popular because of their relative lower production costs, higher yields and smaller sizes. CMOS image sensors can provide these advantages because they are manufactured using technology and equipment developed for fabricating semiconductor devices. CMOS image sensors, as well as CCD image sensors, are accordingly “packaged” to protect the delicate components and to provide external electrical contacts.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional microelectronic imager 1 with a conventional package. The imager 1 includes a die 10 attached to an interposer 20 and a housing 30 attached to the interposer 20. The housing 30 surrounds the periphery of the die 10 and has an opening 32. The imager 1 also includes a transparent cover 40 over the die 10.
The die 10 includes an array of image sensors 12 and a plurality of bond pads 14 that are electrically coupled to the array of image sensors 12. The interposer 20 is typically a dielectric fixture having a plurality of bond pads 22, a plurality of ball pads 24 and traces 26 electrically coupling bond pads 22 to corresponding ball pads 24. The ball pads 24 are arranged in an array for surface mounting the imager 1 to a printed circuit board or module of another device. The bond pads 14 on the die 10 are electrically coupled to the bond pads 22 on the interposer 20 by wire bonds 28 to provide electrical pathways between the bond pads 14 and the ball pads 24. The interposer 20 can also be a lead frame or ceramic housing.
The imager 1 shown in FIG. 1 also has an optics unit including a support 50 attached to the housing 30 and a barrel 60 adjustably attached to the support 50. The support 50 can include internal threads 52, and the barrel 60 can include external threads 62 engaged with the threads 52. The optics unit also includes one or more lenses 70 carried by the barrel 60.
There is a continued trend in the computer industry toward ever higher speed integrated circuit (IC) assemblies based upon semiconductor device technology. Such high signal speeds, however, lack utility unless accompanied by suppression of system noise to an acceptable level. The trend toward lower operational signal voltages in combination with such high speeds exacerbates noise problems.
At state-of-the art operational speeds, signal propagation delays, switching noise and crosstalk between signal conductors resulting from mutual inductance and self inductance phenomena of the conductive paths all become significant to signal degradation. Mutual inductance results from an interaction between magnetic fields created by signal currents flowing to and from a lead frame-mounted, packaged semiconductor device through the leads or “lead fingers,” while self inductance results from the interaction of the foregoing fields with magnetic fields created by oppositely-directed currents flowing to and from ground.
Therefore, the integrated circuits carried on a semiconductor device would ideally be electrically connected to conductive traces on carrier substrates such as printed circuit boards and thus to other semiconductor devices carried on the same or other such substrates by infinitesimally short conductors, eliminating impedance problems such as undesirable inductance and other conductor-induced system noise.
As a practical matter, however, as the capacity and speed of many semiconductor devices, such as dynamic random access memories (DRAMs), has increased, the number of inputs and outputs (I/Os) to each semiconductor device has increased, requiring more numerous and complex external connections thereto, and in some instances requiring undesirably long lead frame lead fingers to place the inner lead ends in contact with, or in close proximity to, the bond pads serving as I/Os for the typical semiconductor device.
Certain currently-popular semiconductor device and package configurations serve to exacerbate the noise problems by favoring a large plurality of laterally adjacent lead fingers of substantial length. For example, so-called lead-over-chip (LOC) configurations typically place the bond pads of a semiconductor device in one or two rows extending along the longitudinal axis of the semiconductor device. To accommodate the centralized bond pad location for wire-bonding and at the same time eliminate the need for a conventional die-attach paddle as a physical semiconductor device support, LOC lead frames have been developed which employ lead fingers extending from the sides of the semiconductor device and over the active surface into close proximity with the bond pad row or rows. The semiconductor device is then supported from the undersides of the extending lead fingers, typically through an intervening polyimide film such as a Kapton™ tape having an adhesive coating on its upper and lower surfaces, the film serving as a dielectric, an alpha barrier and a protective coating for the active surface.
While a mechanically desirable packaging concept, the LOC-type long, mutually parallel lead fingers running over the active surface become abusive in terms of unacceptably increasing real impedance as well as lead inductance (both self and mutual) in the circuit. These lead finger runs also increase signal reflection in the circuit due to transmission line effects and degrade signal integrity due to the aforementioned propagation delays, switching noise and crosstalk. Further, elimination of the die-attach paddle also eliminates the potential for employing a ground plane under the semiconductor device without additional processing steps, and such a ground plane in any case would not alleviate the problems attendant to use of the long lead fingers extending over the semiconductor device's active surface.
LOC configurations are merely one example of the type of packaging promoting the above-referenced undesirable noise phenomena. However, the same undesirable characteristics may be experienced with other lead frame configurations employing extended lead fingers, particularly large groups of such lead fingers in close mutual proximity. Such configurations include lead-under-chip (LUC) configurations, and configurations wherein a large number of leads extend from several sides of a semiconductor device to a single side or edge of a package, such as in a vertical surface mount package, or VSMP.
In a broad sense, electromagnetic interference (EMI) may be very problematic as it relates to the successful operation of semiconductor devices, including imager devices. With respect to imager devices, attempts have been made to provide EMI shielding by placing a conductive “can” over the device and connecting the can to ground. Such cans have also been employed to block undesirable light from entering the imager device. Unfortunately, such devices are relatively expensive and involve the added process of affixing such a can to the imager device. Additionally, an imager device may be subject to EMI generated by other devices placed in close proximity to the imager device. For example, EMI generated by an antenna or RF device on a motherboard of a cell phone may adversely impact an imager device positioned near such devices.
The present subject matter is directed to a device and various methods that may solve, or at least reduce, some or all of the aforementioned problems.
While the subject matter described herein is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.